Talk shows broadcast over Internet radio (also known as streaming radio) are multiplying quickly, as evidenced by the success in the genre by satellite radio network operators. Many Internet radio stations are associated with the corresponding traditional or terrestrial radio station or network (e.g., ESPN® and the NFL Network®). The most common way to distribute Internet radio is via streaming technology that presents listeners with a continuous stream of audio, which depending on the type of media player application 34 used to play the stream, may have little or no control over playback.
Although Internet talk radio is experiencing increasing popularity, when listeners hear topics of interest during a program, it is left up to the listeners on how to best follow up to learn more about the topics. For example, some listeners may choose to perform manual web searches on those topics. In many cases, the listeners may postpone performing a web search until after the program has ended to keep from being distracted. One disadvantage of waiting, however, is that the likelihood the listeners will forget or loose interest in performing the search will increase with time.
In addition, much information related to many topics discussed during the programs may be associated with premium content that is not available over the Internet to the general public. For example, if a listener hears an NFL Network show about NFL Greats, the user may be unable to find over the Internet, much less view, video footage owned by the NFL Network regarding NFL Greats, which are rights restricted.